The alarms are on, the fire spreads quickly, and Italy needed a firefighter ready to cope with it immediately and put it out as soon as possible. Claudio Ranieri was the Italian Football Federation’s (FIGC) first choice, but the 73-year-old rejected, realizing he was too old for such a challenge.Stefano Pioli, Daniele De Rossi, and Fabio Cannavaro were also in the mix, but the Italians’ ultimate solution is Gennaro Gattuso! Will he be the long-term one? Time will tell.Gennaro Gattuso is the new First Team Head Coach 🇮🇹Welcome back, Rino 👊#Azzurri #VivoAzzurro pic.twitter.com/H6oQZWJcca— Italy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@Azzurri_En) June 15, 2025 Either way, the AC Milan legend and one of the most passionate players football has ever had is set to replace Luciano Spalletti on the Azzurri’s bench after the 66-year-old was sacked following a disappointing start to the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.Italy suffered a humiliating defeat in the opening qualifying round against Norway on the road (3-0), and a 2-0 victory over the minnows Moldova couldn’t have saved Spalletti. He was appointed in August 2023 and led the team in one major competition, the 2024 European Championship, in which the Azzurri were eliminated by Switzerland (2-0) in the Round of 16.Following that failure, Spalletti was also on the verge of sacking but had gained the Italian Football Federation’s trust. Still, the clash against Norway was the last straw.Need a definition of loyalty? Look under ‘Berardi & Sassuolo’On the other hand, the public on the Boot isn’t too ecstatic about the new boss either. Since the beginning of his coaching career in 2013, Gattuso has led nine different teams (Sion, Palermo, OFI Crete, Pisa, AC Milan, Napoli, Valencia, Marseille, and Hajduk Split) and won only one trophy – the 2020 Coppa Italia with the Neapolitans.He spent the previous season in Croatia, leading Hajduk Split, with which he topped the table for most of the season, only to fall short in the end and fail to bring the title back to the club that hasn’t won it since 2005.##NAJAVA_MECA_8980503##Still, for the FIGC President Gabriele Gravina, Gattuso is “a symbol of Italian football,” while Italy’s head of delegation, Gianluigi Buffon, claims the Federation “made the best choice.”The Azzuri’s qualifying matches against Estonia and Israel in September will show whether their optimism was justified, but one thing is certain: knowing Gattuso and his temper, the Italians may not play beautiful football, but they’ll have to “die” for the national team jersey.
